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Research Interests

Current Research

Atmospheric science at the nexus of air quality and climate

My research is done with NOAA and CIRES colleagues in the Chemical Sciences Division (CSD) of NOAA’s Earth System Research Laboratory. The goal of this research is to identify and quantify the emissions and processes that determine tropospheric chemical composition with a focus on ozone and aerosols. The aim of our work is to better understand how these atmospheric species influence regional air quality and climate forcing.
Our research approach involves making reliable measurements of the species that control tropospheric chemistry through comprehensive, integrated field studies that utilize state-of-the-art airborne, ship- and ground-based instrument packages that are deployed in regional assessments conducted throughout the United States, followed by a systematic analysis and appraisal of the results. Since 1999, NOAA and CIRES have jointly undertaken eight integrated field studies. These field programs follow a pattern that provides information concerning the similarity and differences in atmospheric chemistry and composition in the various regions across the United States and the surrounding regions that impact our air quality and climate.
I illustrate our approach by referring to the results from the 2010 California Research at the Nexus of Air Quality and Climate Change (CalNex) field study. The details of the study are given in the recently published study overview (Ryerson et al. 2013). As the study acronym implies and the overview indicates, the study embodies a “one atmosphere” perspective that addresses both air-quality and climate-change issues.

There are several important aspects of this study. First, the study accomplished exceptionally productive, high-quality science. Thus far, 104 papers containing the analysis of the CalNex study have been published in the peer-reviewed scientific literature, with an additional four papers submitted and 35 in preparation. Second, scientific findings from the CalNex study have been distilled into a statement of findings concerning 23 policy-relevant science questions formulated by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) in consultation with NOAA (Synthesis of Policy Relevant Findings from the CalNex 2010 Field Study; http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/csd/ projects/calnex/synthesisreport.pdf ). This directly provides badly needed information on current national environmental concerns. Finally, the data from CalNex and the studies preceding and following it (CSD Air Quality Data; http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/csd/groups/csd7/measurements/) are available to the scientific community to compare with ongoing studies to better understand and predict the atmospheric environment of the future.